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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15

On the role of ion temperature gradient turbulence in driving ion thermal transport in neutral beam injection-heated L-mode plasmas in a superconducting tokamak

In this paper, we report a detailed experimental study of the role of ion-temperature-gradient driven turbulence in driving ion thermal transport in neutral beam injection (NBI)-heated L-mode plasmas in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) (Wan et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 1057) coupled with linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations. Significant ion-scale turbulence k ⟂ < cm −1 (k ⟂ < 1.5, where k ⟂ where is the perpendicular wavenumber and ρ s is the ion gyroradius calculated using local electron temperature T e ), measured with a microwave reflectometer, is observed in the plasma core at for r/a ≈ 0.265 and 0.5 (where r is half the diameter of the closed flux surface at a given radial position, and a is half the diameter of the last closed flux surface). Local linear stability analysis with experimental equilibrium quantities at these two radial locations using the GS2 gyrokinetic code shows that the most unstable ion-scale micro-instability is the ion temperature gradient (ITG) mode. Since the computed maximum ion-scale linear growth rates are larger than the local Waltz-Miller E × B shearing rate (Waltz and Miller 1999 Phys. Plasmas 6 4265), the E × B shear is unable to suppress ion-scale turbulence, consistent with the experimental observation of ion-scale turbulence. Experimental ion and electron thermal transports, calculated with power balance analysis, are both anomalous with ion thermal transport being the dominant channel. Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations using the electrostatic global particle-in-cell gyrokinetic tokamak simulation (GTS) code (Weixing Wang et al 2010 Phys. Plasmas 17 072511) show good quantitative agreement between predicted ion thermal transport and that from the power balance analysis. These results demonstrate for the first time the important role of ITG turbulence in driving thermal transport in NBI-heated L-mode plasmas in EAST, showing the effectiveness of GTS code in simulating electrostatic turbulence in EAST and the need of suppressing ITG turbulence to improve energy confinement in EAST.

Sun, P. J. [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hef↗

Diffusioosmotic flow reversals due to ion–ion electrostatic correlations

Existing theories of diffusioosmosis have neglected ion–ion electrostatic correlations, which are important in concentrated electrolytes. Here, we develop a mathematical model to numerically compute the diffusioosmotic mobilities of binary symmetric electrolytes across low to high concentrations in a charged parallel-plate channel. We use the modified Poisson equation to model the ion–ion electrostatic correlations and the Bikerman model to account for the finite size of ions. We report two key findings. First, ion–ion electrostatic correlations can cause a unique reversal in the direction of diffusioosmosis. Such a reversal is not captured by existing theories, occurs at ≈ 0.4 M for a monovalent electrolyte, and at a much lower concentration of ≈ 0.003 M for a divalent electrolyte in a channel with the same surface charge. This highlights that diffusioosmosis of a concentrated electrolyte can be qualitatively different from that of a dilute electrolyte, not just in its magnitude but also its direction. Second, we predict a separate diffusioosmotic flow reversal, which is not due to electrostatic correlations but the competition between the underlying chemiosmosis and electroosmosis. This reversal can be achieved by varying the magnitude of the channel surface charge without changing its sign. However, electrostatic correlations can radically change how this flow reversal depends on the channel surface charge and ion diffusivity between a concentrated and a dilute electrolyte. Furthermore, the mathematical model developed here can be used to design diffusioosmosis of dilute and concentrated electrolytes, which is central to applications such as species mixing and separation, enhanced oil recovery, and reverse electrodialysis.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Manufacturing Water‐Based Low‐Tortuosity Electrodes for Fast‐Charge through Pattern Integrated Stamping

Achieving high energy density and fast charging of lithium‐ion batteries can accelerate the promotion of electric vehicles. However, the increased mass loading causes poor charge transfer, impedes the electrochemical reaction kinetics, and limits the battery charging rate. Herein, this work demonstrated a novel pattern integrated stamping process for creating channels in the electrode, which benefits ion transport and increases the rate performance of the electrode. Meanwhile, the pressure applied during the stamping process improved the contact between electrode and current collector and also enhanced the mechanical stability of the electrode. Compared to the conventional bar‐coated electrode with the same thickness of 155 μm (delivered a discharge capacity of 16 mAh g −1 at the rate of 3 C), the stamped low‐tortuosity LiFePO 4 electrode delivered 101 mAh g −1 capacity. Additionally, water was employed as a solvent in this study. Owing to its eco‐friendliness, high scalability, and minimal waste generation, this novel stamping technique inspire a new method for the industrial‐level efficient roll to roll fabrication of fast‐charge electrodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

High-Speed Ionic Synaptic Memory Based on 2D Titanium Carbide MXene

Synaptic devices with linear high-speed switching can accelerate learning in artificial neural networks (ANNs) embodied in hardware. Conventional resistive memories however suffer from high write noise and asymmetric conductance tuning, preventing parallel programming of ANN arrays. Electrochemical random-access memories (ECRAMs), where resistive switching occurs by ion insertion into a redox-active channel, aim to address these challenges due to their linear switching and low noise. ECRAMs using 2D materials and metal oxides however suffer from slow ion kinetics, whereas organic ECRAMs enable high-speed operation but face challenges toward on-chip integration due to poor temperature stability of polymers. Here, ECRAMs using 2D titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) MXene that combine the high speed of organics and the integration compatibility of inorganic materials in a single high-performance device are demonstrated. These ECRAMs combine the speed, linearity, write noise, switching energy, and endurance metrics essential for parallel acceleration of ANNs, and importantly, they are stable after heat treatment needed for back-end-of-line integration with Si electronics. The high speed and performance of these ECRAMs introduces MXenes, a large family of 2D carbides and nitrides with more than 30 stoichiometric compositions synthesized to date, as promising candidates for devices operating at the nexus of electrochemistry and electronics.

2D materials↗

Ion Mobility Separations Using Cocentric Architecture

Ion mobility separations are usually performed in linear channels, which, when extended, can have a large footprint. In this work, we explored the performance of an ion mobility device with a curved architecture which can have a more compact form. The Co-centric Ion Mobility Spectrometer (CIMS) works by manipulating ions between two co-centric surfaces, each containing a serpentine track. The mobility separation inside CIMS is achieved using traveling waveforms (TWs). We initially evaluated the device using ion trajectory simulations using SIMION, which indicated that when ions traveled circularly inside CIMS, they resulted in similar resolving powers and transmitted m/z range as traveling in a straight path in structures for lossless ion manipulations (SLIM). We then performed experimental validation of CIMS in conjunction with a TOF MS. The CIMS was made of 2 flexible printed circuit board materials folded into concentric cylinders separated by a gap of 2.8 mm. The device was about 50 mm diameter × 152 mm long and provided 1.846 m of serpentine path length. Three sets of mixtures (Agilent tune mixture, tetraalkylammonium salts, and 8 peptide mixture) and four traveling waveform profiles (square, sine, triangle, and sawtooth) were used. The sawtooth TW profile produced a slightly higher resolving power for the Agilent tuning mixture and tetraalkylammonium ions. The average resolving power for Agilent tune mixture ions ranged from 37 (using sawtooth TW) to 27 (using square TW). For tetraalkylammonium ions, the average resolving powers ranged from 45 (sawtooth TW) to 31 (square TW). For the peptide mixture ions, the resolving power was similar among the four TW profiles and ranged from 51 to 56. The average percent error in TW CCS for the peptide mixture ions ranged was about 0.4%. In conclusion, the new device showed promising results for a device made of a flexible printed circuit board material, but improvements are needed to further increase the resolving power.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Diethylenetriamine-functionalized graphene oxide: Insights into ion adsorption and applications in rare earth element separation

The growing demand for critical minerals and materials requires atom- and energy-efficient, selective separations to overcome the challenges posed by the similar chemical and physical properties of the rare earth elements (REEs) and their low concentrations in unconventional domestic feedstocks. Here, in this study, we developed diethylenetriamine-functionalized graphene oxide (DETA-GO) as a membrane material for REE adsorption and separation. Synthesis conditions were optimized to maximize nitrogen incorporation while also preserving GO dispersibility for facile membrane fabrication. We investigated the mechanism of amine functionalization, the nitrogen-bonding configurations, the organization of the interlayer transport channels, and the resulting effects on ion and water transport for REE separations. Neat-GO and DETA-GO multilayer laminate membranes were fabricated by vacuum filtration onto polymer supports. To investigate the effects of amine functionalization, the membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Raman, Fourier transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction measurements. Ion permeation experiments with representative lanthanum (La 3+ ) and ytterbium (Yb 3+ ) solutions revealed enhanced ion adsorption and water transport through DETA-GO membranes compared to neat-GO. The strong affinity of the membranes for multivalent REEs was also validated with conductivity and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurements. Atomistic insight into the role of amine functionalization in modulating nanochannel architecture and long-term stability, optimizing adsorption sites, and regulating REE and water transport was obtained using classical molecular dynamics simulations. Collectively, our joint experimental and theoretical study demonstrates the potential of DETA-GO membranes for selective REE separations, offering insights into ion-binding mechanisms, water-transport properties, and nanochannel optimization for the recovery of critical materials from aqueous feedstocks.

Adsorbent↗

Strong-field induced fragmentation and isomerization of toluene probed by ultrafast femtosecond electron diffraction and mass spectrometry

We investigate the fragmentation and isomerization of toluene molecules induced by strong-field ionization with a femtosecond near-infrared laser pulse. Momentum-resolved coincidence time-of-flight ion mass spectrometry is used to determine the relative yield of different ionic products and fragmentation channels as a function of laser intensity. Ultrafast electron diffraction is used to capture the structure of the ions formed on a picosecond time scale by comparing the diffraction signal with theoretical predictions. Through the combination of the two measurements and theory, we are able to determine the main fragmentation channels and to distinguish between ions with identical mass but different structures. In addition, our diffraction measurements show that the independent atom model, which is widely used to analyze electron diffraction patterns, is not a good approximation for diffraction from ions. Here, we show that the diffraction data is in very good agreement with ab initio scattering calculations.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Tailoring Disordered/Ordered Phases to Revisit the Degradation Mechanism of High‐Voltage LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 Spinel Cathode Materials

Abstract In the spinel oxide cathode family, LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) shows a high operating voltage (≈4.7 V vs Li/Li + ) and excellent Li‐ion mobility with stable 3D conducting channels. Ni/Mn cation disordered and ordered phases usually coexist in LNMO materials, and they have distinct structural and electrochemical properties, resulting in different battery performances for LNMO materials with different phase compositions. Identifying the correlation between phase compositions and electrochemical properties is of significance to the improvement of battery performance and understanding of degradation mechanisms. Herein, the disordered/ordered phase compositions in LNMO materials are tailored by post‐annealing strategies and their impacts on electrochemical performance and degradation mechanisms from the surface to the bulk are systematically investigated. The ordered phase increases rapidly as Mn 3+ is oxidized to Mn 4+ through a post‐annealing process. LNMO with an intermediate fraction of disordered and ordered phases gives rise to improved cycling stability. This article further reports that a high ordered phase fraction can preferentially protect Ni from dissolution during cycling. However, these results suggest that the transition metal dissolution and surface structural change of LNMO do not exhibit a direct correlation with cycling stability. These results indicate the capacity fading mainly correlates with the bulk structural distortion, leading to decreased Li‐ion kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Disordered hydrogen adsorption at the three-fold site of W(110)

Hydrogen often forms disordered phases on metals; however, deciphering the atomic-scale behavior requires experimental and modeling techniques that directly probe the short-range order between neighboring hydrogen adsorbates. Here, to address this challenge, we applied direct recoil spectroscopy (DRS) to investigate hydrogen adsorption on the W(110) surface. We show that the recoiled hydrogen flux measured during DRS is sensitive to the short range order of the adsorbed hydrogen. Ordered hydrogen neighbors are much more efficient at dechanneling incident ions along low-index surface channels, strongly suppressing the recoiled hydrogen flux along these directions. By modeling the DRS measurements with molecular dynamics for ordered and disordered hydrogen phases, we find that at a hydrogen surface coverage of approximately Θ = 0.6, the hydrogen adsorbates are bound to three-fold sites in a disordered phase at room temperature. This finding is consistent with transfer-matrix scaling model calculations that suggest the transition to an ordered hydrogen phase occurs at a greater surface coverage of Θ = 0.83.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Experimental Aging and Lifetime Prediction in Grid Applications for Large-Format Commercial Li-Ion Batteries

Due to the growth of electric vehicle and stationary energy storage markets, the production and use of lithium-ion batteries has grown exponentially in recent years. For many of these applications, large-format lithium-ion batteries are being utilized, as large cells have less inactive material relative to their energy capacity and require fewer electrical connections to assemble into packs. And especially for stationary energy storage systems, where energy delivered is the only revenue source, the economics of these battery systems is highly dependent on cell lifetime. However, testing of large-format lithium-ion batteries is time consuming and requires high current channels and large testing chambers, making information on the performance of commercial, large-format lithium-ion batteries hard to come by. Here, accelerated aging test data from four commercial large-format lithium-ion batteries is reported. These batteries span both NMC-Gr and LFP-Gr cell chemistries, pouch and prismatic formats, and a range of cell designs with varying power capabilities. Accelerated aging test results are analyzed to examine both cell performance, in terms of efficiency and thermal response under load, as well as cell lifetime. Cell thermal response is characterized by measuring temperature during cycle aging, which is used to calculated a normalized thermal resistance value that may help estimate both cell cooling needs or to help extrapolate aging test results to different thermal environments. Cell lifetime is evaluated qualitatively, considering simply the average calendar and cycle life across a range of conditions, as well as quantitatively, using statistical modeling and machine-learning methods to identify predictive aging models from the accelerated aging data. These predictive aging models are then used to investigate cell sensitivities to stressors, such as cycling temperature, voltage window, and C-rate, as well as to predict cell lifetime in various stationary storage applications. Results from this work show that cell lifetime and sensitivity to aging conditions varies substantially across commercial cells, necessitating testing for specific cell formats to make quantitative lifetime predictions. That being said, all commercial cells tested here are predicted to reach at least 10-year lifetimes for stationary storage applications. Based on the aging test results and modeling, some cells are expected to be relatively insensitive to temperature and use-case, making them suited for simple use cases with little or no thermal management and simple controls, while the lifetime of other cells could be extended to 20+ years if operated with thermal management and degradation-aware controls.

battery↗

Survey of AC-LGADs for future 4D trackers with a proton beam

We will present the first beam test results with centimeter-scale AC-LGAD strip sensors, using the Fermilab Test Beam Facility, and a study of the performance of AC-LGAD sensors as a function of their thickness. Sensors of this type are envisioned for applications that require large-area precision 4D tracking coverage with economical channel counts, including timing layers for the Electron Ion Collider (EIC), and space-based particle experiments. Long strip sensors with sparse readout offer better cost and performance for applications where channel count or electrical power density is a constraint. Thanks to the excellent signal to noise ratio in AC-LGADs, sparse readout can be exploited without significant degradation of spatial or time resolution, which is demonstrated in our studies. A survey of sensor designs is presented, with the aim of optimizing the electrode geometry for spatial resolution and timing performance. We will present our studies of the sensor geometry optimizatio n to maintain the desirable sensor performance characteristics with increasingly larger electrodes.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

First survey of centimeter-scale AC-LGAD strip sensors with a 120 GeV proton beam

We will present the first beam test results with centimeter-scale AC-LGAD strip sensors, using the Fermilab Test Beam Facility, and a study of the performance of AC-LGAD sensors as a function of their thickness. Sensors of this type are envisioned for applications that require large-area precision 4D tracking coverage with economical channel counts, including timing layers for the Electron Ion Collider (EIC), and space-based particle experiments. Long strip sensors with sparse readout offer better cost and performance for applications where channel count or electrical power density is a constraint. Thanks to the excellent signal to noise ratio in AC-LGADs, sparse readout can be exploited without significant degradation of spatial or time resolution, which is demonstrated in our studies. A survey of sensor designs is presented, with the aim of optimizing the electrode geometry for spatial resolution and timing performance. We will present our studies of the sensor geometry optimization to maintain the desirable sensor performance characteristics with increasingly larger electrodes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Understanding and Tuning the Electronic Properties of Prussian Blue Analogues

Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) have attracted increasing interest owing to their potential applications in various fields such as energy storage and conversion, neuromorphic computing, and magnetic switching. With a general formula of A x M N [M C (CN) 6 ], they feature an open framework that provides abundant channels for diffusion of alkali metal ions A and allows flexible compositional control of transition metal ions M N and M C . The oxidation states of transition metal ions can be tuned by adjusting the amount (x) of alkali ions A. Here, we carried out density functional theory calculations combined with experimental measurements to investigate the effects of transition metal ions, alkali ions, and oxidation states on the electronic properties of PBAs. Our calculations found that the band gaps of PBAs can be tuned from close to 0 eV to more than 4 eV. Experimentally, we introduced the synthesis/characterization of five previously unreported PBAs (M N = Ru, Os; M C = Fe, Ru, and Os) to complete the nine stable M N :M C transition metal combinations in group VIII of the periodic table. The optically measured intervalence charge transfer excitation energies of group VIII PBAs are consistent with calculated band gaps. They demonstrate wide band gap tunability by adjusting transition metals and oxidation states, enabling semiconductor-to-metal transitions for memristor applications and enhancing electronic conductivity for battery applications. In conclusion, this work provides a computational/experimental database of electronic properties versus structural compositions for PBAs.

Electrical conductivity↗

Octet: A coherent qubit control system for trapped-ion quantum computers

This is firmware and software designed for a Zynq UltraScale+ RFSoC chip made by Xilinx, specifically targeted to laser-based individual addressing of trapped ion qubits via a multi-channel AOM. The design features 8 dual-tone outputs with frequencies up to 409 MHz that can be controlled statically or dynamically via on-chip cubic spline interpolation engines that allow one to generate sequences of output waveforms with fast modulation of frequency, phase, amplitude, and z-rotations that are smooth/discrete and can run simultaneously across all parameters/tones. It also features global phase alignment on all tones regardless of frequency and the ability to return to a known phase/frequency at any later time on a per-tone basis without the need for manual bookkeeping. Acoustic and optical cross-talk can also be destructively canceled by adding neighboring outputs with variable amplitude/phase/delay. Each tone can be optionally frequency locked to an external RF source. SAND2020-12703 M Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Lobser, Daniel↗

CryoEM structures of the human CLC-2 voltage-gated chloride channel reveal a ball-and-chain gating mechanism

CLC-2 is a voltage-gated chloride channel that contributes to electrical excitability and ion homeostasis in many different tissues. Among the nine mammalian CLC homologs, CLC-2 is uniquely activated by hyperpolarization, rather than depolarization, of the plasma membrane. The molecular basis for the divergence in polarity of voltage gating among closely related homologs has been a long-standing mystery, in part because few CLC channel structures are available. Here, we report cryoEM structures of human CLC-2 at 2.46 – 2.76 Å, in the presence and absence of the selective inhibitor AK-42. AK-42 binds within the extracellular entryway of the Cl – -permeation pathway, occupying a pocket previously proposed through computational docking studies. In the apo structure, we observed two distinct conformations involving rotation of one of the cytoplasmic C-terminal domains (CTDs). In the absence of CTD rotation, an intracellular N-terminal 15-residue hairpin peptide nestles against the TM domain to physically occlude the Cl – -permeation pathway. This peptide is highly conserved among species variants of CLC-2 but is not present in other CLC homologs. Previous studies suggested that the N-terminal domain of CLC-2 influences channel properties via a “ball-and-chain” gating mechanism, but conflicting data cast doubt on such a mechanism, and thus the structure of the N-terminal domain and its interaction with the channel has been uncertain. Through electrophysiological studies of an N-terminal deletion mutant lacking the 15-residue hairpin peptide, we support a model in which the N-terminal hairpin of CLC-2 stabilizes a closed state of the channel by blocking the cytoplasmic Cl – -permeation pathway.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Acceleration mechanisms of energetic ion debris in laser-driven tin plasma EUV sources

Laser-driven tin plasmas are driving new-generation nanolithography as sources of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation centered at 13.5 nm. A major challenge facing industrial EUV source development is predicting energetic ion debris produced during the plasma expansion that may damage the sensitive EUV channeling multilayer optics. Gaining a detailed understanding of the plasma dynamics and ion acceleration mechanisms in these sources could provide critical insights for designing debris mitigation strategies in future high-power EUV sources. Here, we develop a fully kinetic model of tin-EUV sources using one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to study ion debris acceleration, which will be valuable for cross-validation of radiation-hydrodynamic simulations. An inverse-bremsstrahlung heating operator is used to model the interaction of a tin target with an Nd:YAG laser, and thermal conduction is included through a Monte Carlo Coulomb collision operator. While the large-scale evolution is in reasonable agreement with analogous hydrodynamic simulations, the significant timescale for collisional equilibration between electrons and ions allows for the development of prominent two-temperature features. A collimated flow of energetic ions is produced with a spectrum that is significantly enhanced at high energies compared to fluid simulations. The dominant acceleration mechanism is found to be a large-scale electric field supported mainly by the electron pressure gradient, which is enhanced in the kinetic simulations due to the increased electron temperature. We discuss the implications of these results for future modeling of tin-EUV sources and the development of debris mitigation schemes.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗